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SAN DIEGO -Anji Shakya, a senior, two-time captain and one-time individual national champion for the UC San Diego women’s swimming and diving program, has been named a San Diego Hall of Champions Star of the Year for 2013.

Shakya will be recognized for her achievements at the 68th Annual Salute to the Champions on Thursday, Feb. 13, though she will be unable to attend as the Tritons will be in the middle of their run at a sixth straight league banner at the 2014 Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference (PCSC) Championships in La Mirada.

Shakya’s crowning moment of the 2013 calendar year came March 7 in Alabama, when she swam to a first career national title in the 200-yard freestyle on the second night of the NCAA Division II Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The Davis native led the final virtually from start to finish, touching the wall in 1:47.95 to break her own school record.

For the duration of the four-day NCAA meet, Shakya was a six-time All-American over the seven events into which she was entered, guiding UCSD to a fifth consecutive third-place national showing as a team.

Shakya had earlier earned PCSC Championships Female Swimmer of the Meet distinction as the top women’s point-getter in La Mirada, Feb. 13-16. She won three individual events in the 200 free (1:48.24), 500 free (4:48.19) and 200 back (2:01.35), as well as anchoring the first-place 800 free relay (7:26.45). She set school records in the 200 free and 500 free, lowering her own mark in the latter, and also broke conference meet standards in both events.

Now nearing the end of her final college season, Shakya holds the fastest time in all of Division II in the 500 free (4:50.30) and is No. 2 in the 200 free (1:50.00), with those marks coming at November’s Arena Invitational in Monterey Park.

Also invited to be in attendance and honored on Feb. 13 at the Town and Country Convention Center will be UCSD’s eight other Stars of the Month for 2013, with water polo standout Sarah Lizotte a two-time selection back-to-back for April and May. The remaining Tritons named were baseball pitcher Ryan Goodbrand alongside Shakya for February, national champion swimmer Dane Stassi in March, javelin All-American Nash Howe for June, volleyball players Sara McCutchan and Danielle Dahle (La Mesa/Grossmont HS) for September and December, respectively, men’s soccer midfielder Andisheh Bagheri for October and water polo goalie Cameron Ravanbach (La Jolla/La Jolla HS) in November.

Former softball great and current first-year Triton assistant coach Camille Gaito was UCSD’s previous San Diego Hall of Champions Star of the Year for 2012.

Prior to the mid-February PCSC Championships, Shakya will compete one final time locally in sixth-ranked UCSD’s dual-meet finale at crosstown rival University of San Diego this Saturday, Feb. 1, beginning at 11 a.m.

Shakya was among seven amateur Stars of the Year. For Salute to the Champions ticket information, contact Terri Rochon at 619-699-2302 or terrir@sdhoc.com.

ABOUT THE HALL OF CHAMPIONS The SDHOC is an undisputed national leader in recognition of amateur, collegiate and professional sports excellence; youth sports-based education; and sports memorabilia exhibition. The Hall was launched by the Breitbard Athletic Foundation, which was founded in 1946 to recognize significant athletic achievement in San Diego. Through its vigilant focus on the community of San Diego and its betterment, SDHOC has developed an outstanding sports museum that enhances the quality of life for San Diegans through sports. For more information, please visit www.sdhoc.com.